The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Science. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Lipsey School
Lipsey School is a two-grade school serving fifth and sixth graders in the Brookhaven School District, located on Drury Lane in Brookhaven, the county seat of Lincoln County, Mississippi. It functions as a transition school, catching children at a developmental pivot point between elementary and middle school. The enrollment is moderate for a two-grade configuration, and the student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller White population and a very small number of students identifying as Hispanic, Asian, or two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding community. The school is not a charter and is not designated as a magnet.
On the most recent Mississippi Academic Assessment Program results, Lipsey's performance is mixed across subjects and grades. Science stands out as the strongest area, with a solid majority of fifth graders scoring proficient or above. Math results land near the middle of the range, with roughly half of students in each grade reaching proficiency. English language arts shows a split: fifth-grade proficiency sits at about half of tested students, but sixth-grade ELA proficiency drops noticeably, with only about a third of students reaching the proficient threshold. This dip in sixth-grade ELA is the clearest soft spot in the school's results, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly if their child is entering sixth grade. Participation rates were not reported in the available data, so it is not possible to assess whether all enrolled students were tested.
No multi-year trend data was available, so there is no way to tell from the provided information whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. Data on special populations, including students with individualized education programs and English learners, was not reported. Discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance information was also absent from the available data, so the picture of school climate and resources is incomplete.
Because Lipsey serves only fifth and sixth grades, there is no graduation rate, no ACT or SAT data, and no college or career readiness information to report. Those metrics simply do not apply to this grade band.
Brookhaven itself is a small city with a historic downtown centered on the Lincoln County courthouse along US Route 51, with Interstate 55 running along the west side and US 84 along the south. The city nearly tripled its area through annexation to bring in surrounding suburban developments, creating a blend of older town core and newer residential outskirts. Amtrak's City of New Orleans still serves the city on its route between Memphis and New Orleans. The publicly reported housing market for the school's zip code shows typical home values well below both the Mississippi state benchmark and the national benchmark, and values have declined modestly over the past year. The price-to-income ratio sits below the national level, suggesting housing is relatively affordable for the area, though current mortgage rates remain elevated by recent historical standards. Rental data was not available for this location.
The broader educational landscape in Brookhaven includes the statewide Mississippi School of the Arts, located within the city, as well as several Lincoln County public schools in the surrounding rural areas. Brookhaven Academy, a private school established during school desegregation, also operates in the area. The Brookhaven School District serves the city's public school students. We looked for the district's recent parent-relevant changes but found little, so we left that out rather than guess.
For a family considering Lipsey, the school offers a focused two-year academic environment with science as a clear strength and math holding steady. The sixth-grade ELA dip is the area most worth asking about. The surrounding community is affordable, with a traditional small-town Mississippi character and reasonable highway and rail access to larger cities. The gaps in the available data, particularly around student support services, discipline, and staffing, mean that a parent would benefit from direct conversations with the school to fill in those parts of the picture.
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